Gift Giving
by Marie the Hedgecat
Summary: The world no longer needs saving, so the Mew Mews have gone their separate ways. Later, Lettuce recieves a call from Ichigo to exchange gifts during the Winter holidays. One shot.


A/N: My first Tokyo Mew Mew fan fiction. I've wanted to write something for this series for a while now, as well as something out of my "comfort zone." And what better way to do it with a cute "ambiguous winter holiday" one shot?

Disclaimer: I own this plot and nothing more. That's pretty self-evident, though, this being a site with _fan_ fiction in its name.

* * *

Lettuce had been waiting for what felt like forever, growing more and more grateful with every passing second that she had decided to dress warmly. The weather had looked fine when she initially left home to come here, but now the sky was filled with heavy clouds and the air grew colder and colder.

The green haired girl checked the clock on her cell phone for the millionth time, checking for any potential messages as well. But, like the last fifty times she checked, it was still four-something in the evening, and her message box remained empty.

There had to be a good reason for Ichigo to not be there, Lettuce told herself for the millionth time. After all, Ichigo was still a good friend even though they rarely saw each other now, and there was no way Ichigo would just ditch her unless there was a good reason to do so. Maybe Ichigo was looking for something to wear, or ran into trouble or something...

Lettuce finally gave up on standing there and found a bench to sit on, her back facing the large fountain in the middle of the square where Ichigo and her had planned to meet. It was fairly relaxing to hear the sound of running water. Of course, that was probably a result from the propose genes that still resided in her; in the past, all the sound of running water did for her was make her need to use to restroom. But now it was relaxing, and a good distraction from her paranoia that Ichigo wasn't going to show up.

Lettuce let her mind wander for a moment, thinking of how she had gotten here in the first place. She and the other Mew Mews had gone their separate ways, having not actually seen each other in months. Of course, they still e-mailed each other and texted on occasion, but for the most part, they were living completely separate lives now that the Earth was no longer in danger.

Then, the other day, she had gotten a call from Ichigo. The cat-girl had asked her if she was doing anything for the winter holidays and if she wanted to exchange gifts. That had sounded like a wonderful idea to Lettuce, so she cheerfully agreed to it, and they set up a time, day, and place to meet so they could exchange their gifts.

But by now, Lettuce had been waiting for a half hour or so, and Ichigo still hadn't shown up.

The green haired girl looked up at the sky again, deeply concerned that it would soon snow. She was sure Ichigo wouldn't ditch her; all she had to do was wait. Her friend was probably being held up by something and was feeling just as frustrated as she was.

Lettuce's focus started to wander from the sky to the people walking around her. Most of them were walking in couples, looking happy as could be with one another. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy, having never been in a relationship herself. But the people looked so happy with each other, she had to admit it was pretty cute.

Even if Ichigo was another one of those people, what with her relationship with Masaya.

Lettuce looked at the bag her gift to Ichigo was in, wondering briefly if Ichigo would like it. She had attempted to crochet a nice scarf and hat (with holes for Ichigo's cat ears in case they popped up, of course) for Ichigo, as well as gotten a book about different cat species for Masaya. The only problem so far was that Lettuce kept worrying herself with whether or not they would like the gifts she got for them.

_Of course they'll like them_, Lettuce told herself in her mind. _I just need to calm down._

But with how much time had passed already, it was hard for the green haired girl to follow her own advice. How much longer would it take for Ichigo to arrive there, assuming she was planning on arriving at all? It already felt as though she had waited for a lifetime, and at the rate at which it was getting dark, she found herself really not wanting to wait much longer.

Lettuce looked at the crowd of people and finally felt her hopes rise when she saw Ichigo's pink hair barely sticking up from amongst the mass of bodies. She could hear Ichigo talking to herself, sounding worried about how late she was, before the pink haired girl tripped and fell in front of her, nearly dropping the gift bag she was holding as she did so.

"I'm finally here..." Ichigo groaned, getting up and dusting herself off. After briefly checking to make sure no damage had been done to her present to her friend, Ichigo turned her attention to Lettuce. "I'm so sorry I'm late! I fell asleep and then lost track of time and no one woke me up, and...!"

"It's okay," Lettuce said, smiling sweetly in a way that she hoped told her friend she really wasn't angry. "I haven't been waiting that long."

Ichigo didn't look too convinced, but she brightened up when she remembered why they were there in the first place.

"Right! Your gift!" Ichigo said, cheerily handing her gift bag to Lettuce. "I really hope you like it; I tried to think of something you'd really like!"

Lettuce accepted the gift bag and offered Ichigo her present. Ichigo accepted it happily, seeming surprised about how heavy her bag was.

"I hope you didn't go through too much trouble," Ichigo said, staring at the bag while trying to guess what it was that was inside.

"Oh, no, it was no trouble," Lettuce said passively. "Um... I was supposed to be home a little while ago, so..."

"Oh, it's no problem," Ichigo said cheerily. "It was nice seeing you again, Lettuce!"

Lettuce smiled shyly.

"It was nice seeing you again, too, Ichigo."

* * *

Lettuce returned home some time later, and went to her room to open her present. The moment she saw what it was, a large smile appeared on her face. It was such a simple gift; just a picture in a really beautiful frame, but it was _what_ the picture was that made her feel so happy.

It was a picture taken back when the Mew Mews were still together. Lettuce couldn't readily remember the day, but from the looks of the picture, it had been a pretty good one. Everyone looked happy, even Zakuro who was usually so high-strung.

Lettuce smiled and set the picture frame on her desk.

Even if she couldn't still hang out with her friends like she used to, they would all share a special bond that could never be broken. Even if they all lived separate lives now, they would all still care about each other.

They would all still be the Mew Mews.

* * *

A/N: Happy holidays, everyone!


End file.
